“This case is very concerning for a number of reasons,” says Rick Bright, an American immunologist and vaccine researcher and a U.S. government health official from 2016 to 2020. “It’s in an otherwise healthy teenager. Like a similar case in Missouri, there’s no clear source for infection and no direct farm connection.”
While long COVID is not usually immediately or directly life-threatening, it’s possible it could exacerbate existing conditions, and play a role in a person’s death in this way.
... For high-risk individuals, this could provide critical information to inform immediate treatment options, including quickly taking medications like Paxlovid within one week of symptoms to mitigate a severe response.
A study by the University of Pennsylvania and researchers from 26 U.S. children's hospitals has linked elevated body mass index (BMI) to a significantly higher risk of developing post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) among children and young adults.
